Biography
A native of Clinton, NJ, Gregg is a 2006 ASCAPlus award winner for the folk genre. Last year he was a finalist in the Kerrville Folk Festival's prestigious New Folk competition and had the opportunity to open for 70's folk/rock stars America at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. Gregg has also had the honor of playing on The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Millenium Stage.
His most recent release is the Winter/Holiday CD "Simple Gifts" recorded with his wife singer/dancer/actress Maggie Anderson. Gregg & Maggie got married in May 2003.
His ease of phrasing and clear, warm baritone communicates joy, wit, love and whatever else comes to mind without pretense. His guitar playing is bold and bassy, negotiating enlightening open tunings and various worldly rhythms like it was a roll through the park. Like just a small handful of other instrument intensive folkers - Willy Porter comes to mind, and JT - Gregg Cagno is a studied and experienced performer and entertainer. Comfortable and warm with an audience, he's as creative an interpreter of other's works as he is his own; drawing material from a broad spectrum, e.g. Steve Earle to Stevie Wonder.
Mostly appearing solo, or as a duo with wife Maggie, Cagno is sometimes accompanied by Bill Levinson on keys or percussionist Dave Anthony or Jim Heffernan (Joe Diffie, Brad Paisley) on Dobro. If all the stars align, someday the 5 of them will have a gig...
In addtion to performing, Gregg has been teaching songwriting and guitar workshops for the NJ State Teen Arts Festival and Young Composers festival for the past 10 years.
Gregg's song "In Her Own Eyes" (co-written with Robert Meitus) was recently placed in the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings archives with the FAST FOLK catalogue. The title track of his 1st CD "Backroad Driver" was featured on NPR's 'Car Talk'. His tune "Just the 3 of Us" won 'best mellow' at the 2002 South Florida Folk Festival.
Cagno learned his craft, and perfected his smooth baritone voice, as a teenager playing and volunteering at the legendary Godfrey Daniels stage in Bethlehem, PA. The influence of fellow Godfrey's-alum John Gorka can be seen in Gregg's sharp, descriptive, and witty lyrics. But Gregg Cagno isn't an echo of any one performer, musician, or songwriter. He does, brilliantly, what only a few talented folks can pull off: translate the depths of his influences into a sound and style distinctly his own.
Instrumentation
Gregg-voice & guitars
Discography
Backroad Driver (1994)
Tales from Sixth & Clinton (1997)
Present Moment Days (2000)
Simple Gifts (2002)
Worth the Wait (2009...)
Links
| http://www.greggcagno.com |